Premier League Preview: West Ham United vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Just like other squads. West Ham and Tottenham eye for a better finish this season. Both clubs are (desperately) trying to get out of their (comfort zones) in the Premier League.

For quite some time, West Ham has been content with its mid-table stature. On the other hand, the Spurs seems to be stuck with a 6th or 7th place finish. Breaking into the final four and hopefully, playing into the Champions League has been a long-time dream that has not materialized.

As the new season opens, both clubs will see to it that they shall achieved their highly coveted goals.

The contenders

West Ham United

The Hammers almost dabbled with relegation last season. Experiencing a 4-match losing streak towards the season’s last leg, many predicted the squad’s unprecedented return to the Championship.

Fortunately, the squad survived the relegation threat and for this, Sam Allardyce must be given due credit. This is despite failing to move the squad out of the mid-table. Finishing on the 13th spot was not that disappointing. But neither does it warrant extreme plaudits and praise

In the new season, Allardyce is determined to give its attacking department a boost. This is evident by the signing of World Cup stunner. Enner Valencia. West Ham cannot afford to rely heavily on Andy Carroll, who is still on the verge of recovering from an injury. The unfortunate event became West Ham’s waterloo that could have been prevented if the rest of there are other attacking options or if those players that have the potential took the scoring role.

Currently, West Ham manifests a strong squad that is determined to make a statement. Yet, it seemed that its current performance was not at par with what they are trying to project. Losing in 3 friendlies and being held to a draw by Championship clubs, generate doubt over the squad’s true form.

Tottenham Hotspurs

Gareth Bale’s departure was a double-edged sword for the club. It was a big loss, but it boosted the squad’s ability to acquire more highly skilled players. However, the squad was unable to take advantage of Bale’s sale. Instead, the squad’s performance dwindled and almost spiraled downwards. This led to the abrupt sacking of Andreas Villas Boas (AVB). Tim Sherwood soon temporarily replaced AVB and led Tottenham to a 7th place finish—a notch lower than what they achieved during the 2012/2013 season.

Currently, Tottenham will be working under the tutelage of Mauricio Pochettino and very little changes can be observed from the squad’s roster of players. This signals a glimmer of hope in terms of the objective to penetrate the top 4.

Pochettino’s arrival is welcomed with the hopes of bringing fresh perspectives, but also with the idea that he will be able to make Tottenham work as a team via bringing out the best out of his talented pool of players.

Prediction, head turners and flops

Definitely, Tottenham stands as favorite of sports betting sites. Chistian Eriksen and Roberto Soldado are expected to raise the bar higher for Tottenham, whilst West Ham’s Valencia is deemed to aid the whole squad in inflicting resistance towards the opposition.

What the odds say

In the betting site, 12BET, Tottenham is the match’s top pick and is valued to win at 1.82.